Opportunity to be heard and Director’s decisions

When Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) staff recommend that the Director refuse, amend, or suspend registration, or impose terms and conditions on a registration, OSC staff will send the registered individual or firm a letter called a “Letter of Brief Reasons” that provides written notice of its recommendation and brief reasons for it. When the recommendation pertains to an individual applicant, a copy of the letter is also sent to the sponsoring firm. Section 31 of Ontario’s Securities Act and Section 23(3) of Ontario’s Commodity Futures Act then provides that the individual or firm may request to be heard by the Director before a decision is made concerning staff’s recommendation. This is known as an “opportunity to be heard”.

Opportunity to be heard

An opportunity to be heard is normally conducted in writing, although it can also be conducted verbally, in person. The Director will then issue a decision on the matter in writing to the firm or individual, and to OSC staff. The firm or individual subsequently has 30 days from the date of the decision to request, in writing and by registered mail, a review of the Director’s decision.

Please note: not all Director’s decisions are confidential and staff will publish the following types of Director’s decisions:

decisions for contested opportunities to be heard
decisions approving joint recommendations to settle an opportunity to be heard where the recommendation is that the registrant be suspended
decisions approving joint recommendations to settle an opportunity to be heard where the recommendation is that terms and conditions requiring strict supervision be imposed

Furthermore, staff will publish the following Director’s decisions even when an opportunity to be heard has not been requested:

decisions to suspend a registrant
decisions to impose terms and conditions requiring strict supervision

Search for Director’s decisions

Decisions of the Director on registration matters arising out of opportunities to be heard are searchable according to year and topic. The topics represent some of the main issues that arise in these Director’s decisions.

The fact that a decision is listed under a particular heading means that the conduct described by the heading was alleged in the case, and not necessarily that the director found the individual or company responsible for the conduct. In addition, some decisions involve more than one issue and accordingly they appear under multiple headings. Stakeholders should read a decision in full before referring to it for any purpose.

Director’s decisions on registration matters that have been issued since March 12, 2003 are published and are searchable. Decisions of the Director and of the Commission which occurred prior to 2003 can be found in the OSC Bulletin.

This Director’s decision listing is for informational purposes only, and is not intended to be legal advice. Stakeholders may wish to consult legal counsel if they have any questions about the application of a particular decision to their own circumstances.

Opportunity to be heard and Director’s decisions

Opportunity to be heard

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